Control system and printing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A control system includes a terminal device including a first communication unit configured to perform first Bluetooth communication and second Bluetooth communication, and a printing apparatus including a second communication unit that is connected by pairing to the terminal device to perform the second Bluetooth communication with the first communication unit, wherein the terminal device performs the first Bluetooth communication in a state where no pairing connection is made with the printing apparatus, and transmits a notification instruction command to the printing apparatus through the first communication unit, and wherein the printing apparatus performs a notification operation based on the notification instruction command when receiving the notification instruction command through the second communication unit based on the first Bluetooth communication.

The present application is based on, and claims priority from JPApplication Serial Number 2021-052968, filed Mar. 26, 2021, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a control system and a printingapparatus.

2. Related Art

The printing apparatus is controlled wirelessly by a terminal devicesuch as a smartphone. Bluetooth (registered trademark) is used as such aradio communication standard. The terminal device controls the printingapparatus by making a pairing connection with a printing apparatusdesired by the user and communicating with the printing apparatus.

In JP-A-2019-220863, a central terminal, which is a terminal device, isin contact with or close to a peripheral terminal such as a printingapparatus with which a user desires to make a pairing connection,thereby performing a touch event to acquire individual identificationinformation via NFC (registered trademark) communication. In addition,the central terminal starts a scan for acquiring an advertising packetwith the touch event as a trigger. Further, the peripheral terminal onwhich the touch event is executed starts transmitting the advertisingpacket. With such a configuration, even when there is a plurality ofperipheral terminals, the central terminal is paired with the peripheralterminal with which the user desires to make a pairing connection.

However, in JP-A-2019-220863, since it is necessary for the user toapproach the peripheral terminal and perform an event such as a touchevent before the pairing connection, the action is troublesome andburdensome for the user.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a control systemincludes a terminal device including a first communication unitconfigured to perform first Bluetooth communication and second Bluetoothcommunication, and a printing apparatus including a second communicationunit that is connected by pairing to the terminal device to perform thesecond Bluetooth communication with the first communication unit,wherein the terminal device performs the first Bluetooth communicationin a state where no pairing connection is made with the printingapparatus, and transmits a notification instruction command to theprinting apparatus through the first communication unit, and wherein theprinting apparatus performs a notification operation based on thenotification instruction command when receiving the notificationinstruction command through the second communication unit based on thefirst Bluetooth communication.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a printingapparatus includes a notification unit that makes a notification, aprinting unit that performs printing on a recording sheet pulled outfrom roll paper, a communication unit configured to perform firstBluetooth communication and second Bluetooth communication with aterminal device, and a controller that causes the communication unit toperform the second Bluetooth communication with the terminal device in astate where a pairing connection is made with the terminal device,wherein the controller performs the first Bluetooth communication in astate where no pairing connection is made with the terminal device, andwhen receiving a notification instruction command from the terminaldevice through the communication unit, causes the notification unit tomake a notification based on the notification instruction command.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration example of acontrol system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a functionalblock of a terminal device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a functionalblock of a first printing apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration example of thehardware of the first printing apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a procedure of processingperformed in the control system according to the embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to thedrawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration example of acontrol system 1 according to the embodiment. The control system 1includes a terminal device 11, a first printing apparatus 12A, a secondprinting apparatus 12B, and a third printing apparatus 12C. Further,FIG. 1 shows a user 31 who operates the terminal device 11. The user 31is an example of a user.

Here, each of the first printing apparatus 12A to the third printingapparatus 12C is an example of a printing apparatuses. In the presentembodiment, one terminal device 11 is shown for the sake of simplicity,but the control system may include a plurality of terminal devices.Further, in the present embodiment, three printing apparatuses are shownas a plurality of printing apparatuses recognized by the terminal device11, but as other examples, two printing apparatuses may be used, or fouror more printing apparatuses may be used.

The terminal device 11 is a smartphone, a personal computer, or thelike, and may be any other devices. In the present embodiment, theterminal device 11 is a device portable by the user 31. The terminaldevice 11 has a function of performing communicating according toBluetooth (registered trademark). The terminal device 11 has a screen51.

In the present embodiment, the first printing apparatus 12A to the thirdprinting apparatus 12C are printing apparatuses of the same type, havethe same configuration, and perform the same operation. Therefore, inthe present embodiment, the configuration and operation of the firstprinting apparatus 12A will be described in detail, and the descriptionof the configurations and operations of the second printing apparatus12B and the third printing apparatus 12C will be omitted in detail.

The first printing apparatus 12A accommodates the roll paper inside thehousing and prints an image on a recording sheet 71 which is pulled outfrom the roll paper. The first printing apparatus 12A has a function ofperforming Bluetooth communication. The first printing apparatus 12A maybe another type of printing apparatus. Further, the first printingapparatus 12A to the third printing apparatus 12C may be any type ofprinting apparatus, or may be different types of printing apparatuses.

The terminal device 11 displays a list of identification informationabout the printing apparatus recognized by the predetermined procedureof Bluetooth on the screen 51. The predetermined procedure is aprocedure for advertising Bluetooth Low Energy (registered trademark).In the present embodiment, Bluetooth Low Energy is also referred to asBLE. In the present embodiment, the identification information about thefirst printing apparatus 12A is “Printer A”, the identificationinformation about the second printing apparatus 12B is “Printer B”, andthe identification information about the third printing apparatus 12C is“Printer C”.

Here, in the present embodiment, the function of Bluetooth includes thefunction of Bluetooth Basic Rate/Enhanced Data Rate and the function ofBLE. Bluetooth Basic Rate/Enhanced Data Rate may be referred to as aBluetooth Classic. In addition, Bluetooth Basic Rate/Enhanced Data Rateand BLE are Bluetooth functions having different specifications. The BLEcommunication may be referred to as a first Bluetooth communication, andthe Bluetooth Basic Rate/Enhanced Data Rate may be referred to as asecond Bluetooth communication. With reference to the first Bluetoothcommunication and the second Bluetooth communication, the firstBluetooth communication is communication that does not require pairing,but its communication speed is slower than that of the second Bluetoothcommunication. On the other hand, the second Bluetooth communication iscommunication that requires pairing, but its communication speed isfaster than that of the first Bluetooth communication. In other words,each of the first printing apparatus 12A to the third printing apparatus12C and the terminal device 11 can transmit or receive informationwithout pairing when performing the first Bluetooth communication. Onthe other hand, when each of the first printing apparatus 12A to thethird printing apparatus 12C and the terminal device 11 can transmit orreceive information only after the pairing is established whenperforming the second Bluetooth communication. BLE is a communicationmode with low power consumption.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a functionalblock of the terminal device 11 according to the embodiment. Theterminal device 11 includes a first input/output unit 111, a firststorage unit 112, and a first controller 113. The first input/outputunit 111 includes a first operation unit 131, a first display unit 132,and a first communication unit 133. The first input/output unit 111, thefirst operation unit 131, the first display unit 132, the firstcommunication unit 133, the first storage unit 112, and the firstcontroller 113 are simply described as an input/output unit, anoperation unit, a display unit, a communication unit, a storage unit,and a controller of the terminal device.

The first input/output unit 111 performs input and output. The firstoperation unit 131 is operated by the user 31. The first operation unit131 may be any operation unit, or may be a touch panel, a button, akeyboard, a mouse, a voice input unit, or the like. The first displayunit 132 has the screen 51 and displays information on the screen 51.The screen 51 may have a touch panel function. The first communicationunit 133 has a communication interface for performing Bluetoothcommunication. The first communication unit 133 may have a function ofperforming another communication.

The first storage unit 112 stores various types of information. Thefirst storage unit 112 may be configured by including various types ofmemories. The first controller 113 performs various types of control andprocesses. In the present embodiment, the first controller 113 performsa process of making a pairing connection with the first printingapparatus 12A to the third printing apparatus 12C. As an example, thefirst controller 113 performs a process of making a pairing connectionwhen performing the second Bluetooth communication with any one of thefirst printing apparatus 12A to the third printing apparatus 12C. In thepresent embodiment, the first controller 113 is configured by includinga processor such as a central processing unit (CPU). Then, the firstcontroller 113 performs various types of control and processes byreading and executing the program stored in the first storage unit 112.The program may be a program of a predetermined application.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a functionalblock of the first printing apparatus 12A according to the embodiment.The first printing apparatus 12A includes a second input/output unit211, a second storage unit 212, a printing unit 213, a second controller214, and a roll paper accommodation unit 215. The second input/outputunit 211 includes a second operation unit 231, a notification unit 232,and a second communication unit 233. The first printing apparatus 12Amay be simply described as a printing apparatus, and the secondinput/output unit 211, the second operation unit 231, the secondcommunication unit 233, the second storage unit 212, and the secondcontroller 214 may be simply described as an input/output unit, anoperation unit, a communication unit, a storage unit, and a controllerof the printing apparatus. The roll paper accommodation unit 215accommodates roll paper 251. The recording sheet 71, which is a printmedium shown in FIG. 1 , is a sheet which is pulled out from the rollpaper 251. The roll paper accommodation unit 215 may be described as aroll paper holder.

Here, in the present embodiment, the first printing apparatus 12A is asmall printing apparatus that does not have a screen, but as anotherconfiguration example, it may be a printing apparatus that has a screen.In this case, the second input/output unit 211 includes a display unitthat displays information on the screen.

The second input/output unit 211 performs input and output. The secondoperation unit 231 is operated by the user 31. The second operation unit231 may be any operation unit, for example, a button, or the like. Thenotification unit 232 has a function of performing a predeterminednotification. As an example, the notification unit 232 includes aringing buzzer. The notification is a notification by sounding a buzzer.As an example, the buzzer may be a sound due to vibration, or may be apredetermined melody. The notification is not limited to a notificationmade by the notification unit 232, and may be a notification in anothermode. For example, it may be a notification by displaying a screen,printing a predetermined image, or lighting or blinking a light such asa light emitting diode (LED). The second communication unit 233 has acommunication interface for performing Bluetooth communication. Thesecond communication unit 233 may have a function of performing anothercommunication.

The second storage unit 212 stores various types of information. Thesecond storage unit 212 may be configured by including various types ofmemories. The printing unit 213 has a printing mechanism that prints animage on the recording sheet 71 which is pulled out from the roll paper251. Further, the printing unit 213 may have a transport mechanismincluding a transport roller that transports the recording sheet 71, andmay have a cutting mechanism that cuts the recording sheet 71 from theroll paper 251. The printing mechanism may have a thermal line headincluding a plurality of heat generating elements disposed along adirection intersecting the transport direction of the recording sheet71. The cutting mechanism may have a movable blade and a fixed blade, orthe movable blade may advance and retreat with respect to the fixedblade to cut the recording sheet 71. The movable blade may be describedas a first blade, and the fixed blade may be described as a secondblade.

The second controller 214 performs various types of control andprocesses. In the present embodiment, the second controller 214 performsa process of making a pairing connection with the terminal device 11. Inthe present embodiment, the second controller 214 is configured byincluding a processor such as a CPU. Then, the second controller 214performs various types of control and processes by reading and executingthe program stored in the second storage unit 212.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration example of thehardware of the first printing apparatus 12A according to theembodiment. The first printing apparatus 12A includes a processor 311, amemory 312, a user interface 313, a communication interface 314, anotification mechanism 315, and a printing mechanism 316, all of whichare connected via a bus.

In the present embodiment, the second controller 214 includes theprocessor 311. The second storage unit 212 includes the memory 312. Thesecond operation unit 231 includes the user interface 313. The secondcommunication unit 233 includes the communication interface 314. Thenotification unit 232 includes the notification mechanism 315. Theprinting unit 213 includes the printing mechanism 316.

Here, the BLE communication will be described. In other words, the firstBluetooth communication will be described. In the control system 1according to the present embodiment, a generic attribute profile (GATT)defined in the Bluetooth standard is used for command transmission ofthe BLE communication. In the present embodiment, the terminal device 11as the host is a central terminal, and each of the first printingapparatus 12A to the third printing apparatus 12C is a peripheralterminal.

The peripheral terminal makes an advertisement for wirelesslytransmitting position information and the like, and the central terminalmakes a connection request to the peripheral terminal accordingly. Thecentral terminal transmits Service Discovery for checking the servicethat the peripheral terminal can perform to the peripheral terminal. Inresponse to this, the peripheral terminal notifies the central terminalof attribute information such as “Write”, “Read” or “Notify” included inits service. The attribute information may be described as a profile.

When the service of the peripheral terminal includes “Write”, thecentral terminal transmits a command as a “Write” request to theperipheral terminal. When receiving the command, the peripheral terminalnotifies the central terminal of ACK. Note that ACK is informationindicating that the communication was successful. The central terminaldisconnects the communication with the peripheral terminal when thecommunication with the peripheral terminal ends. Such a series ofcommunication is performed in a state where the central terminal and theperipheral terminal are not connected by pairing to each other.

Here, “Write” is attribute information indicating that the centralterminal can perform writing, to the peripheral terminal, for executinga predetermined operation. Further, “Read” is attribute informationindicating that the central terminal can read a predetermined value setin the peripheral terminal. Further, “Notify” is attribute informationindicating that the peripheral terminal can notify the central terminalof a predetermined value.

The processing performed in the control system 1 will be described withreference to FIG. 5 . FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of aprocedure of processing performed in the control system 1 according tothe embodiment. In the example of FIG. 5 , communication between theterminal device 11 and the first printing apparatus 12A will bedescribed. The communication of the second printing apparatus 12B andthe third printing apparatus 12C is the same as the communication of thefirst printing apparatus 12A. The processes T1 to T7 shown in FIG. 5will be described. These processes T1 to T7 are performed by thefunction of BLE, and are performed in a state where no pairingconnection is made.

In the process T1, the first printing apparatus 12A wirelessly transmitsthe advertising packet of BLE through the second communication unit 233.The advertising packet includes identification information about thefirst printing apparatus 12A, which is the source. Similarly, the casewhere the second printing apparatus 12B and the third printing apparatus12C also transmit the advertising packet of BLE wirelessly will bedescribed.

Here, as the identification information included in the advertisingpacket by the first printing apparatus 12A to the third printingapparatus 12C, any information capable of identifying each of the firstprinting apparatus 12A to the third printing apparatus 12C may beincluded. As the identification information, for example, device nameinformation may be included. Further, the advertising packet may includethe position information about each of the first printing apparatus 12Ato the third printing apparatus 12C. When each of the first printingapparatus 12A to the third printing apparatus 12C is identified by theposition information or the like, the position information or the likemay be used as the identification information.

The advertising packet is a signal for making a notification of theexistence of the peripheral terminal. Here, in the present embodiment,the information about the advertising packet is an example of theadvertisement information.

The terminal device 11 receives these advertising packets through thefirst communication unit 133. Then, in the terminal device 11, the firstcontroller 113 displays the identification information included in theseadvertising packets on the screen 51 of the first display unit 132. FIG.1 shows an example of the display contents of the screen 51. In theexample of FIG. 1 , the screen 51 shows “Printer A”, which is theidentification information of the first printing apparatus 12A, “PrinterB”, which is the identification information about the second printingapparatus 12B, and “Printer C”, which is the identification informationabout the third printing apparatus 12C in a list.

In addition, instead of displaying the identification informationincluded in the advertisement packet, the terminal device 11 may displayanother identification information corresponding to the identificationinformation. For example, the terminal device 11 stores in advance thecorrespondence between the identification information included in theadvertisement packet and the nickname information for each of the firstprinting apparatus 12A to the third printing apparatus 12C in the firststorage unit 112, and instead of displaying the identificationinformation, the nickname information corresponding to theidentification information may be displayed.

The user 31 looks at the display contents of the screen 51 and manuallyselects the identification information about the first printingapparatus 12A desired by the user 31. This selection operation may be anoperation of touching the corresponding identification informationdisplayed on the screen 51 with a finger or the like. The terminaldevice 11 accepts a selection operation by the user 31.

In the process T2, the terminal device 11 wirelessly transmits theconnection request to the first printing apparatus 12A selected by theuser 31 through the first communication unit 133 in response to theoperation of the user 31. The first printing apparatus 12A receives theconnection request through the second communication unit 233. Theconnection request may be described as connection request information.

In the process T3, the terminal device 11 wirelessly transmits ServiceDiscovery to the first printing apparatus 12A through the firstcommunication unit 133. Service Discovery is a signal inquiring about aperformable service. The first printing apparatus 12A receives ServiceDiscovery through the second communication unit 233.

In the process T4, the first printing apparatus 12A wirelessly transmits“Service Write” to the terminal device 11 through the secondcommunication unit 233. “Service Write” is a signal notifying that“Write” is performable as a service. The terminal device 11 receives“Service Write” through the first communication unit 133.

Here, in the present embodiment, Service Discovery is an example ofrequest information for requesting information on whether a firstprocess based on the control command is performable. The first processbased on the control command may be simply described as the processbased on the control command. Further, in the present embodiment, the“Write” command is an example of the control command. Further, in thepresent embodiment, the process of performing the notification operationis an example of the first process. Further, in the present embodiment,“Service Write” is an example of response information indicating thatthe first process is performable.

In the process T5, the terminal device 11 wirelessly transmits a “GATTWrite” request to the first printing apparatus 12A through the firstcommunication unit 133. The “GATT Write” request is a signal instructingto execute “Write”. The first printing apparatus 12A receives the “GATTWrite” request through the second communication unit 233. The “GATTWrite” request may be described as operation request information.

Here, in the present embodiment, the “GATT Write” request includes theexecution instruction command of the notification operation that can beinterpreted by the first printing apparatus 12A. The executioninstruction command of this notification operation is an example of thenotification instruction command. The notification instruction commandis, for example, a buzzer notification command for instructing thesounding of the buzzer of the first printing apparatus 12A. The commandsthat can be interpreted by the first printing apparatus 12A are, forexample, ESC/POS (registered trademark) system commands. Further, in thepresent embodiment, the operation of making a notification by soundingthe buzzer is an example of the notification operation.

In the process T6, the first printing apparatus 12A wirelessly transmitsACK to the terminal device 11 through the second communication unit 233.The terminal device 11 receives ACK through the first communication unit133.

The first printing apparatus 12A makes a notification through thenotification unit 232 in response to the notification instructioncommand included in the “GATT Write” request. That is, the firstprinting apparatus 12A sounds the buzzer. As a result, the user 31 canconfirm by the sound of the buzzer that the printing apparatus called bythe terminal device 11 is the first printing apparatus 12A.

In the process T7, the terminal device 11 wirelessly transmits adisconnection request to the first printing apparatus 12A through thefirst communication unit 133. The first printing apparatus 12A receivesthe disconnection request through the second communication unit 233. Asa result, the BLE communication between the terminal device 11 and thefirst printing apparatus 12A is disconnected.

Here, the terminal device 11 continues to display a list ofidentification information about the first printing apparatus 12A to thethird printing apparatus 12C on the screen 51 even after the BLEcommunication with the first printing apparatus 12A is disconnected.

Further, when the first printing apparatus 12A is selected by the user31 in the process T1, the terminal device 11 may display a messageprompting the user 31 to check whether to make a pairing connection withthe first printing apparatus 12A on the screen 51 of the first displayunit 132 as a pop-up screen for displaying the above-mentionedidentification information list, or instead of displaying theabove-mentioned identification information list.

Any timing may be used as the timing for displaying such a message bythe terminal device 11. As an example, when the terminal device 11receives the ACK from the first printing apparatus 12A in the processT6, the terminal device 11 may display the message and wait for theinstruction input from the user 31. As another example, the terminaldevice 11 may display the message and wait for the instruction inputfrom the user 31 after the BLE communication with the first printingapparatus 12A is disconnected. As another example, the terminal device11 may display the message when the first printing apparatus 12A isselected by the user 31 in the process T1. In this case, the terminaldevice 11 continues to display the message even after the BLEcommunication with the first printing apparatus 12A is disconnected, andwaits for the instruction input from the user 31.

When the user 31 makes a pairing connection between the first printingapparatus 12A that sounds the buzzer and the terminal device 11, theuser 31 manually operates to make a pairing connection between the firstprinting apparatus 12A and the terminal device 11 according to themessage displayed on the screen 51 of the terminal device 11. Theoperation of this instruction may be an operation of touching thecorresponding button displayed on the screen 51 with a finger or thelike. The terminal device 11 makes a pairing connection with the firstprinting apparatus 12A based on Bluetooth through the firstcommunication unit 133 in response to the operation of the user 31. Morespecifically, the terminal device 11 makes a pairing connection based onthe second Bluetooth communication (Bluetooth Basic Rate/Enhanced DataRate communication) through the first communication unit 133. Then, theterminal device 11 causes the first printing apparatus 12A to performprinting via the second Bluetooth communication in response to theoperation of the user 31.

When the first printing apparatus 12A that sounds the buzzer is not theprinting apparatus desired by the user 31, the user 31 returns to theprocess T1 and selects the printing apparatus desired by the user 31from the list of identification information.

As described above, in the control system 1 according to the presentembodiment, the terminal device 11 searches for printing apparatusesexisting in the vicinity by using the BLE communication, and displays alist of identification information about the printing apparatus on thescreen 51. Then, the terminal device 11 transmits a command by BLE tothe printing apparatus selected by the user 31 without making a pairingconnection, and causes the printing apparatus to sound the buzzer.Therefore, in the control system 1 according to the present embodiment,the user 31 can easily determine whether the printing apparatus selectedby the screen 51 is a printing apparatus for which the pairingconnection is desired.

As described above, in the control system 1 according to the presentembodiment, the terminal device 11 causes the printing apparatusselected by the user 31 to sound the buzzer before the pairingconnection is made by Bluetooth, so that it is possible to easily checkthe association between the identification information about theprinting apparatus that the user 31 selects on the screen 51 of theterminal device 11 and the actual physical printing apparatus. In otherwords, the user 31 can easily check the correspondence between theidentification information about the printing apparatus selected on thescreen 51 of the terminal device 11 and the actual printing apparatus bythe resonance of the buzzer. As a result, the user 31 can easily searchfor a printing apparatus for which the pairing connection is desiredeven when there are a large number of printing apparatuses that arecandidates for the pairing connection around the terminal device 11.

Although it is conceivable that the printing apparatus sounds the buzzerafter establishing the pairing connection between the terminal device 11and the printing apparatus, it will be more efficient with aconfiguration in which the printing apparatus sounds the buzzer in astate where no pairing connection is made as in the present embodiment.

An example of the configuration according to the above embodiment isshown. As a configuration example, the control system includes aterminal device including a first communication unit configured toperform first Bluetooth communication and second Bluetoothcommunication, and a printing apparatus including a second communicationunit that makes a pairing connection with to the terminal device toperform the second Bluetooth communication with the first communicationunit. The terminal device performs the first Bluetooth communication ina state where no pairing connection is made with the printing apparatus,and transmits a notification instruction command to the printingapparatus through the first communication unit. The printing apparatusperforms a notification operation based on the notification instructioncommand when receiving the notification instruction command through thesecond communication unit based on the first Bluetooth communication.Therefore, since the terminal device transmits the notificationinstruction command to the printing apparatus in a state where nopairing connection is made to cause the printing apparatus to performthe notification operation, the user does not have to take the troubleof an event or the like involving the operation of the printingapparatus, and it is easy to identify the printing apparatus that theuser desires the pairing connection. In addition, the control system 1,the first communication unit 133, the terminal device 11, the secondcommunication unit 233, the first printing apparatus 12A to the thirdprinting apparatus 12C, and the user 31 in the present embodiment are anexample of the control system, the first communication unit, theterminal device, the second communication unit, the printing apparatus,and the user, respectively.

As a configuration example, the first Bluetooth communication iscommunication that is performable in a state where no pairing connectionis made, and the second Bluetooth communication is communication that isperformable after pairing connection is made. In other words, the firstBluetooth communication is communication that is performable in a statewhere no pairing connection is made, and the second Bluetoothcommunication is communication that is performable after the pairingconnection is made or the pairing connection is completed. Thecommunication speed of the second Bluetooth communication is faster thanthe communication speed of the first Bluetooth communication. Therefore,the terminal device can easily identify the printing apparatus by usingBluetooth communication having different specifications and differentcharacteristics, and can speed up the communication with the printingapparatus based on the Bluetooth communication having a highcommunication speed.

As a configuration example, the terminal device transmits, to theprinting apparatus, through the first communication unit, requestinformation requesting information on whether a first process based on acontrol command is performable in a state where no pairing connection ismade. The printing apparatus receives the request information throughthe second communication unit. When the first process is performable,the printing apparatus transmits, to the terminal device, through thesecond communication unit, response information indicating that thefirst process is performable according to the received requestinformation. The terminal device transmits the notification instructioncommand to the printing apparatus through the first communication unitwhen the response information is received through the firstcommunication unit. Therefore, the terminal device can determine theprinting apparatus that can perform the control command in a state whereno pairing connection is made, and can transmit the notificationinstruction command to the printing apparatus. Therefore, in the controlsystem, it is possible to avoid troubles such as the printing apparatusnot performing the notification operation even though the notificationinstruction command is transmitted from the terminal device.

As an example of the configuration, the printing apparatus transmitsadvertisement information through the second communication unit. Theterminal device displays identification information about the printingapparatus on a screen when the advertisement information is receivedthrough the first communication unit. The terminal device transmits therequest information to the printing apparatus through the firstcommunication unit when selection of the printing apparatus is acceptedbased on the identification information displayed on the screen.Therefore, the can select a printing apparatus with which the userdesires a pairing connection from the printing apparatuses for which theidentification information is displayed on the screen of the terminaldevice.

As a configuration example, the terminal device disconnects acommunication state with the printing apparatus after transmitting thenotification instruction command to the printing apparatus through thefirst communication unit. Therefore, the terminal device can completethe communication for checking the printing apparatus while no pairingconnection is made with the printing apparatus. As a result, forexample, even when a printing apparatus that the user does not desireperforms the notification operation, the user can smoothly selectanother printing apparatus.

As a configuration example, the printing apparatus includes a printingunit that performs printing on a recording sheet pulled out from rollpaper, a communication unit configured to perform first Bluetoothcommunication and second Bluetooth communication with a terminal device,and a controller that makes a pairing connection with the terminaldevice based on the second Bluetooth communication. The controllerperforms the first Bluetooth communication in a state where no pairingconnection is made with the terminal device, and performs thenotification operation based on the notification instruction commandwhen receiving the notification instruction command from the terminaldevice through the communication unit. Therefore, since the printingapparatus receives the notification instruction command from theterminal device in a state where no pairing connection is made toperform the notification operation, the user does not have to take thetrouble of an event or the like involving the operation of the printingapparatus, and it is easy to identify the printing apparatus that theuser desires the pairing connection. In addition, each of the firstprinting apparatus 12A to the third printing apparatus 12C in thepresent embodiment is an example of the printing apparatus.

A program for implementing the functions of any component in the devicedescribed above is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, andthe program may be loaded into a computer system and executed. The term“computer system” as used herein includes hardware such as an operatingsystem or a peripheral device. The “computer-readable recording medium”is a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, aROM or a CD(compact disk)-ROM, or a storage device such as a hard diskbuilt in the computer system. Furthermore, the “computer-readablerecording medium” includes a server when a program is transmitted via anetwork such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephoneline, or a medium that holds a program for a certain period of time,such as a volatile memory in the computer system that is a client. Thevolatile memory may be, for example, a RAM. The recording medium may be,for example, a non-transitory recording medium.

Further, the above program may be transmitted from a computer system inwhich this program is stored in a storage device or the like to anothercomputer system via a transmission medium or by a transmission wave inthe transmission medium. Here, the “transmission medium” that transmitsa program refers to a medium having a function of transmittinginformation, such as a network such as the Internet or a communicationline such as a telephone line. Further, the above program may be aprogram for implementing part of the above-mentioned functions. Further,the above program may be a so-called difference file that can implementthe above-mentioned functions in combination with a program alreadyrecorded in the computer system. The difference file may be referred toas a difference program.

Further, the functions of any component in any device described abovemay be implemented by a processor. For example, each process in theembodiment may be implemented by a processor that operates based oninformation such as a program and a computer-readable recording mediumthat stores the information such as the program. Here, in the processor,for example, the functions of each component may be implemented byindividual hardware, or the functions of each component may beimplemented by integrated hardware. For example, the processor mayinclude hardware, which may include at least one of a circuit thatprocesses a digital signal and a circuit that processes an analogsignal. For example, the processor may be configured with one or morecircuit devices mounted on a circuit board, or one or all of one or morecircuit elements. An example of the circuit device may include anintegrated circuit (IC), and an example of the circuit element mayinclude a resistor or a capacitor.

Here, the processor may be, for example, a CPU. However, the processoris not limited to the CPU, and examples thereof may include variousprocessors such as a graphics processing unit (GPU) and a digital signalprocessor (DSP). Further, the processor may be, for example, a hardwarecircuit including an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).Further, the processor may be composed of, for example, a plurality ofCPUs, or may be composed of a hardware circuit including a plurality ofASICs. Further, the processor may be composed of, for example, acombination of a plurality of CPUs and a hardware circuit including aplurality of ASICs. Further, the processor may include, for example, oneor a plurality of an amplifier circuit and a filter circuit that processan analog signal.

Although the embodiment of this disclosure is described in detail withreference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited tothe embodiment, and the design and the like within a range not deviatingfrom the gist of this disclosure are also included.

What is claimed is:
 1. A control system comprising: a terminal deviceincluding a first communication unit configured to perform firstBluetooth communication and second Bluetooth communication; and aprinting apparatus including a second communication unit that isconnected by pairing to the terminal device to perform the secondBluetooth communication with the first communication unit, wherein theterminal device performs the first Bluetooth communication in a statewhere no pairing connection is made with the printing apparatus, andtransmits a notification instruction command to the printing apparatusthrough the first communication unit, and wherein the printing apparatusperforms a notification operation based on the notification instructioncommand when receiving the notification instruction command through thesecond communication unit based on the first Bluetooth communication. 2.The control system according to claim 1, wherein the first Bluetoothcommunication is communication that is performable in a state where nopairing connection is made, and the second Bluetooth communication iscommunication that is performable in a state where a pairing connectionis made, and wherein a communication speed of the second Bluetoothcommunication is faster than a communication speed of the firstBluetooth communication.
 3. The control system according to claim 1,wherein the terminal device transmits, to the printing apparatus,through the first communication unit, request information requestinginformation on whether a process based on a control command isperformable in a state where the pairing connection is not made, whereinthe printing apparatus receives the request information through thesecond communication unit, and when the process based on the controlcommand is performable, transmits, to the terminal device, through thesecond communication unit, response information indicating that theprocess is performable according to the received request information,and wherein the terminal device transmits the notification instructioncommand to the printing apparatus through the first communication unitwhen the response information is received through the firstcommunication unit.
 4. The control system according to claim 3, whereinthe printing apparatus transmits advertisement information through thesecond communication unit, and wherein the terminal device displaysidentification information about the printing apparatus on a screen whenthe advertisement information is received through the firstcommunication unit, and transmits the request information to theprinting apparatus through the first communication unit when selectionof the printing apparatus is accepted based on the identificationinformation displayed on the screen.
 5. The control system according toclaim 1, wherein the terminal device disconnects a communication statewith the printing apparatus after transmitting the notificationinstruction command to the printing apparatus through the firstcommunication unit.
 6. A printing apparatus comprising: a notificationunit that makes a notification; a printing unit that performs printingon a recording sheet pulled out from roll paper; a communication unitconfigured to perform first Bluetooth communication and second Bluetoothcommunication with a terminal device; and a controller that causes thecommunication unit to perform the second Bluetooth communication withthe terminal device in a state where a pairing connection is made withthe terminal device, wherein the controller performs the first Bluetoothcommunication in a state where no pairing connection is made with theterminal device, and when receiving a notification instruction commandfrom the terminal device through the communication unit, causes thenotification unit to make a notification based on the notificationinstruction command.
 7. The printing apparatus according to claim 6,wherein the first Bluetooth communication is communication that isperformable in a state where no pairing connection is made, and thesecond Bluetooth communication is communication that is performable in astate where a pairing connection is made, and wherein a communicationspeed of the second Bluetooth communication is faster than acommunication speed of the first Bluetooth communication.
 8. Theprinting apparatus according to claim 6, wherein when receiving, fromthe terminal device, through the communication unit, request informationrequesting information on whether a process based on a control commandis performable in a state where the pairing connection is not made, thecontroller causes the communication unit to transmit, to the terminaldevice, response information indicating that the process is performableaccording to the received request information when the process isperformable, and wherein when receiving, from the terminal device,through the communication unit, the notification instruction commandbased on the response information, the controller causes thenotification unit to make notification based on the notificationinstruction command.
 9. The printing apparatus according to claim 8,wherein the terminal device disconnects a communication state with theprinting apparatus after the communication unit receives thenotification instruction command.
 10. A method of controlling a printingapparatus including a printing unit that performs printing on arecording sheet pulled out from roll paper, and a communication unitconfigured to perform first Bluetooth communication and second Bluetoothcommunication with a terminal device, the printing apparatus beingconnected by pairing to the terminal device, the printing apparatusperforming the second Bluetooth communication with the terminal device,the method comprising: performing the first Bluetooth communication in astate where no pairing connection is made with the terminal device, andwhen a notification instruction command is received from the terminaldevice, performing a notification operation based on the notificationinstruction command.
 11. The method of controlling the printingapparatus according to claim 10, wherein the first Bluetoothcommunication is communication that is performable in a state where nopairing connection is made, and the second Bluetooth communication iscommunication that is performable in a state where a pairing connectionis made, and wherein a communication speed of the second Bluetoothcommunication is faster than a communication speed of the firstBluetooth communication.
 12. The method of controlling the printingapparatus according to claim 10, wherein the method includes receiving,from the terminal device, request information requesting information onwhether a process based on a control command is performable in a statewhere the pairing connection is not made, transmitting, to the terminaldevice, response information indicating that the process is performableaccording to the received request information when the process based onthe control command is performable, and when receiving, from theterminal device, the notification instruction command the responseinformation, performing a notification operation based on thenotification instruction command.
 13. The method of controlling theprinting apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the terminal devicedisconnects a communication state with the printing apparatus afterreceiving the notification instruction command.